Noteworthy News

States Ramping Up Medicaid Efforts

Post
on June 18, 2012

With a partial rebound of their tax revenues now in evidence, many states are taking advantage of the breathing room they have not had in recent years to pursue changes in how they serve their Medicaid populations and pay for that care.

Some states are still in cost-containment mode, cutting capitation rates and payments to hospitals and other providers, limiting ER visits and inpatient stays, introducing or expanding co-pays and Medicaid premiums, and attempting to tighten eligibility criteria.

Other states, meanwhile, are seeking new ways, often with the help of federal grant money, to better integrate physical and behavioral health services, serve the chronically ill, meet the needs of elderly recipients, and build a stronger organizational infrastructure in anticipation of the expansion of Medicaid eligibility coming in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act.

Many of these program developments will have a significant impact on urban safety-net hospitals because of the especially large numbers of Medicaid patients those hospitals serve.